Mighty Mike McGee stands strong

By: Bethany Bekas

Posted: 9/10/08

Sweet-Nugget. That is the phrase stand up poet Mike McGee would use to describe himself and his work, and he could not be more on target.

On Wednesday, Sept. 3, McGee proved himself as a master of not only spoken word, but also of body language and voice when he presented some of his favorite poems.

"He's like a pocket full of awesome, to quote himself," former student Matt Mason said after driving three and a half hours to see the show. "He's just a hilarious guy."

McGee's material dealt with the hilarious to the serious, and grotesque to inspiring. With a love poem to pudding and a poem about class status in America, McGee displayed his ability to handle diverse subject matters.

"When I write just to write, I draw from just daily experiences and what I see around me," McGee said. "(I enjoy writing about) anything that has an interwoven theme of getting along and human interaction."

The diversity may come from the 280,000 miles McGee has traveled, or his battles with Spina Bifida and diabetes, or maybe even his years training to be priest and then a comedian. Perhaps the diversity just comes from his unique and gifted talent.

"(My material) generally just comes to me," McGee said. "A lot of the things I said tonight, I didn't write down, they are just things I said tonight."

Many of McGee's poems started out humorous and had the audience roaring with laughter until he hit a serious note that made everyone stop and truly ponder the world problem he just sprung on them.

"I consider myself a funny guy who likes to take serious turns," McGee said.

One poem tells of an epic battle against death in order to save his soul. What makes the poem a McGee signature is the fact that death has the voice of Sean Connery, and for the epic battle: a food-eating contest.

Aside from the silly and serious, McGee is also willing to deal with controversial topics.

"I'm willing to be subversive," Mike McGee said. "I'm willing to cross the line a little."

One of his poems talks about what Jesus would be like if he were alive today.

"(In my poem) I'm just saying, if Jesus were alive he'd probably be a cool dude, he'd probably be chill and make me an omelet," McGee said. "But I'm not going to follow him; at some point, I'm going to go home."

Another more controversial poem that McGee wanted, but forgot to present is called "Consume More Vagina." Despite the title, this is a poem concerning world peace. According to McGee, if everyone participated in the poem's namesake, no one would be shooting and there would be no war.

One matter void of controversy is McGee's skill. In 2006, McGee won the World Slam Poetry Championship.

"If you don't know what that means, it means he's very good," said opening act Robbie Q. Telfer about McGee's prestigious award. "Robbie Q.," an equally talented friend of McGee, is the Performances Manager for Young Chicago Authors, which is a group for aspiring poets and authors.

"I bring kids to poetry with spoken word and with slam," Robbie Q. said of his work.

Both poets brought smiles and contemplation to the faces of the audience for an inspiring evening of slam poetry that will not soon be forgotten by those who witnessed it.

"I love the notion of bringing a room of people together," McGee said. "And now, they all have me running through their brains for a little bit."